Electronic device and control method for the same

ABSTRACT

An electronic device of the present invention includes an input acceptance section that accepts an input of a command that causes any one of a plurality of operation states to be selected; a function section ( 342 ) that has a plurality of operation states that differ in power consumption and that operates in an operation state represented by the command that is input to the input acceptance section of the plurality of operation states; a storage section ( 16 ) that pre-stores power consumption values corresponding to the plurality of operation states and a conversion factor, based on which, power consumption is converted into an amount of emitted greenhouse gas; and a control section ( 15 ) that reads from the storage section a power consumption value corresponding to an operation state represented by the command that is input to the input acceptance section, multiplies the power consumption value that has been read by the conversion factor, obtains the multiplied result as the amount of the emitted greenhouse gas per unit time, and causes the obtained result to appear on a display section.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an electronic device that is operatedwith power supplied from the outside and also to a control method forthe same.

BACKGROUND ART

In recent years, manufacturers of electronic devices have been concernedabout greenhouse gases that are emitted therefrom when they aremanufactured and used.

Although amounts of gases emission from electronic devices when they aremanufactured are a cause of concern, if electronic devices have highpower consumption, since the amount of greenhouse gases that are emittedfrom the electronic devices throughout the course of their life isgreater than the amount of greenhouse gases that are emitted when theelectric devices are manufactured, the emission of greenhouse gases is amatter of serious concern.

To decrease amounts of greenhouse gases emission from electronic deviceswhile they are used, the efficiency of computation processes forelectronic devices has been improved and their operations have beencontrolled using sensing technologies so that their power consumption isreduced.

These technologies may be effective in reducing the amount based onnormal operations of electronic devices. However, when use frequency ofthese devices is high or when the functions that are built into thesedevices are used at a high rate, a problem may arise in which the amountof greenhouse gases increases in proportion to hour of use. In addition,there is a problem in which the amount of greenhouse gases that areemitted largely depends on how they are used by their users.

Technologies that alert users to the environmental impact that devicesmay have throughout the course of the device's life are disclosed inJP2007-53433A Publication (hereinafter referred to as PatentLiterature 1) and JP2001-356648A Publication (hereinafter referred to asPatent Literature 2).

The technology disclosed in Patent Literature 1 alerts the users to theenvironmental that devices may have throughout the course of thedevice's life and at each state at which the device is used such that heor she can easily understand and correctly recognize it. LCD 22 shown inFIG. 3 (B) presented in Patent Literature 1 displays amount of carbondioxide (CO₂) emission for each manufacturing stage and each usagestage.

The technology disclosed in Patent Literature 2 collects informationconcerning the environmental impact through various types of sensors,computes the environmental impact, and causes its value to be shown notonly to service persons but also to general users. Patent Literature 2discloses that when a user presses a power consumption button of adevice, power consumption data appears on a display section.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The technologies disclosed in Patent Literature 1 and Patent Literature2 only cause the user to recognize that power consumption effects theenvironment when devices are actually used, but do not provide anyguidance to the user on how to reduce power consumption. Thus, to reducepower consumption, the user has to refrain from using the device.

An exemplary object of the invention is to provide an electronic deviceand a control method of the same that will allow an operation thatreduces the amount of a greenhouse gas emission to be selectable in itsoperation stage.

An electronic device according to an exemplary aspect of the inventionincludes an input acceptance section that accepts an input of a commandthat causes any one of a plurality of operation states to be selected; afunction section that has a plurality of operation states that differ inpower consumption and that operates in an operation state represented bythe command that is input to the input acceptance section of theplurality of operation states; a storage section that pre-stores powerconsumption values corresponding to the plurality of operation statesand a conversion factor, based on which, power consumption is convertedinto an amount of emitted greenhouse gas; and a control section thatreads from the storage section a power consumption value correspondingto an operation state represented by the command that is input to theinput acceptance section, multiplies the power consumption value thathas been read by the conversion factor, obtains the multiplied result asthe amount of the emitted greenhouse gas per unit time, and causes theobtained result to appear on a display section.

In addition, a control method for an electronic device according to anexemplary aspect of the invention is a control method for an electronicdevice that has an input acceptance section that accepts an input of acommand that causes any one of a plurality of operation states to beselected, and a function section that has a plurality of operationstates that differ in power consumption and that operates in anoperation state represented by the command that is input to the inputacceptance section of the plurality of operation states, the controlmethod comprising: storing power consumption values corresponding to theplurality of operation states and a conversion factor, based on which,power consumption is converted into an amount of emitted greenhouse gas,in a storage section; reading from the storage section a powerconsumption value corresponding to an operation state represented by thecommand that is input to the input acceptance section; and multiplyingthe power consumption value that has been read by the conversion factor,obtaining the multiplied result as the amount of the emitted greenhousegas per unit time and causing the obtained result to appear on a displaysection.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[FIG. 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a projection type displaydevice according to a first embodiment.

[FIG. 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of a principalstructure that executes power control for the projection type displaydevice according to the first embodiment.

[FIG. 3] FIG. 3 shows an example of a setup menu of the projection typedisplay device according to the first embodiment.

[FIG. 4] FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram describing an operation of anoperation state control section according to the first embodiment.

[FIG. 5] FIG. 5 shows operation states and device power consumption ofindividual functions stored in a main substrate.

[FIG. 6] FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a procedure of anincreased/decreased emission amount computation process shown in FIG. 4.

[FIG. 7] FIG. 7 shows an example of an image that appears when the userinputs a command that causes the power to be turned off.

[FIG. 8A] FIG. 8A shows an example of the amounts of CO₂ reduction thatappears on a screen and that differ in device operation states when apower consumption reference value is 325 W.

[FIG. 8B] FIG. 8B shows an example of the amounts of CO₂ reduction thatappears on a screen and that differ in device operation states when thepower consumption reference value is 325 W.

[FIG. 8C] FIG. 8C shows an example of the amounts of CO₂ reduction thatappears on a screen and that differ in device operation states when thepower consumption reference value is 325 W.

[FIG. 9A] FIG. 9A shows an example of the amounts of CO₂ reduction thatappears on a screen and that differ in device operation states when apower consumption reference value is 310 W.

[FIG. 9B] FIG. 9B shows an example of the amounts of CO₂ reduction thatappears on a screen and that differ in device operation states when thepower consumption reference value is 310 W.

[FIG. 9C] FIG. 9C shows an example of the amounts of CO₂ reduction thatappears on a screen and that differ in device operation states when thepower consumption reference value is 310 W.

[FIG. 10] FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing a procedure of the emissionamount computation process shown in FIG. 4.

[FIG. 11] FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of a principalstructure that executes power control in a projection type displaydevice according to a second embodiment.

[FIG. 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram describing a process andoperation of the projection type display device according to the secondembodiment.

[FIG. 13] FIG. 13 is a flow chart showing a procedure of the emissionamount suppression process.

[FIG. 14] FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between elapsedtimes and upper limit values of CO₂ emission amounts corresponding toapplications of a plurality types of projection type display devices.

[FIG. 15] FIG. 15 is a graph showing an example of an upper limit curveand a suppression cancelation curve of CO₂ emission amounts of a mounttype and projection type display device.

[FIG. 16] FIG. 16 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amountsaccording to working example 1.

[FIG. 17] FIG. 17 is an example of a CO₂ emission amount menu at anelapsed time of 6570 h in actual CO₂ emission amounts according toworking example 1.

[FIG. 18] FIG. 18 is an example of a CO₂ emission amount menu at anelapsed time of 18980 h in actual CO₂ emission amounts according toworking example 1.

[FIG. 19] FIG. 19 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amountsaccording to working example 2.

[FIG. 20] FIG. 20 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amountsaccording to working example 3.

[FIG. 21] FIG. 21 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amountsaccording to working example 4.

[FIG. 22] FIG. 22 is an example of a CO₂ emission amount menu at anelapsed time of 51100 h in actual CO₂ emission amounts according toworking example 4.

BEST MODES THAT CARRY OUT THE INVENTION

With reference to the accompanied drawings, embodiments of the presentinvention will be described. In the following embodiments, electronicdevices will be described as projection type display devices.

First Embodiment

Here, the structure of a projection type display device according tothis embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showinga projection type display device according to this embodiment.

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective rear view showing that housing uppersection 20 and main substrate 10 have been removed from main body 30 ofthe projection type display device. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing anexample of the structure of the main substrate, a power supply unit, anda lamp unit. A method for a process according to this embodiment isprincipally executed by main substrate 10, power supply unit 34, andlamp unit 35.

As shown in FIG. 1, the projection type display device is provided as aprincipal internal structure with main substrate 10, power supply unit34, lamp unit 35, optical engine 31, and projection lens 32. In theprojection type display device, AC power is supplied to main body 30through AC inlet 36. The projection type display device is also providedwith a speaker (not shown) that outputs sound and a LAN (Local AreaNetwork) terminal 38 that are used for connection to a communicationline such as the Internet.

As shown in FIG. 2, power supply unit 34 has power supply feedingsection 341 and ballast power supply 342. External power is supplied topower supply feeding section 341 through AC inlet 36 such that power isstably supplied to main substrate 10 and ballast power supply 342.Ballast power supply 342 supplies power to ultra high-voltage mercurylamp 351 provided in lamp unit 35 so that a lamp stably emits light. Theemitted light passes through optical engine 31 and it generates an imagecorresponding to an image signal and projects the image in the forwarddirection through projection lens 32.

Besides an image signal generation section (not shown) that generates animage signal corresponding to an external signal, main substrate 10 hassound output circuit section 11 that drives speaker 37 corresponding toa sound signal; LAN circuit section 12 that controls communication ofinformation that is transmitted and received through LAN terminal 38 anda communication line; sound output circuit section power feeding linecontrol section (hereinafter referred to as sound output power feedingcontrol section) 13; LAN circuit section power feeding line controlsection (hereinafter referred to as communication power feeding controlsection) 14; operation state control section 15 that controls soundoutput power feeding control section 13 and communication power feedingcontrol section 14; and storage section 16 connected to operation statecontrol section 15.

The structure including the image signal generation section (not shown),optical engine 31, and projection lens 32 corresponds to a displaysection of he projection type display device.

Storage section 16 pre-stores information of a table that shows a powerconsumption reference value, a CO₂ emission factor, and powerconsumption corresponding to operation states of individual functions.The power consumption reference value is a power consumption valuecorresponding to an amount of emitted greenhouse gas that becomes abasis for comparing increases or decreases at in the amount of thegreenhouse gas that is emitted. The power consumption reference valuemay be power consumption of a current operation state or powerconsumption in an ordinary operation method for the projection typedisplay device. The CO₂ emission factor corresponds to a conversionfactor based on which power is converted into an amount of CO₂ emission.Hereinafter, the table that shows that power consumption correspondingto operation states of individual functions is referred to as the powerconsumption table.

Operation state control section 15 is connected to sound output controlsection 13, communication power feeding control section 14, and ballastpower supply 342 through respective signal lines. Operation statecontrol section 15 transmits control signals to sound output powerfeeding control section 13, communication power feeding control section14, and ballast power supply 342 so as to control the operations ofthese three functions. Operation state control section 15 controlsballast power supply 342 so as to change the output of ultrahigh-voltage mercury lamp 351. For example, assuming that the LANfunction has been set to “OFF,” operation state control section 15transmits a control signal to communication power feeding controlsection 14 that causes power feeding to LAN circuit section 12 to beturned off.

Sound output power feeding control section 14 is provided between apower reception line of sound output circuit section 11 and a powertransmission line of power supply feeding section 341 and changes overbetween the ON and OFF states of power feeding to sound output circuitsection 11 corresponding to a command issued by operation state controlsection 15. Communication power feeding control section 14 is providedbetween the power reception line of LAN circuit section 12 and the powertransmission line of power supply feeding section 341 and changes overbetween the ON and OFF states of the power feeding to LAN circuitsection 12 corresponding to a command issued by operation state controlsection 15. Ballast power supply 342 changes a lamp output correspondingto a control signal received from operation state control section 15while keeping light emitted from ultra high-voltage mercury lamp 351stable.

Operation state control section 15 is provided with memory (not shown)that stores a program; and a CPU (Central Processing Unit) (not shown)that executes a process corresponding to the program. The operationstates of the foregoing three functions, which are the light sourceoutput change function, communication function, and sound outputfunction, are changed in such a manner that the CPU (not shown) executesthe program. On the other hand, the operation states of the individualfunctions are selected or changed corresponding to a command that isinput by the user in such a manner that a CPU (not shown) provided inmain substrate 10 executes a main software program. As an example of theprocess, when the user inputs a command that causes a menu screen onwhich he or she changes an operation state to appear to the projectiontype display device, a setup menu is displayed on the screen.

Hereinafter, for simplicity, it is assumed that content relating to thecontrol method according to this embodiment of the main softwareprogram, for example, such as a setup menu screen invoking process, ispre-written in a program that the CPU of operation state control section15 executes. Thus, when the menu screen invoking command is input,operation state control section 15 displays the setup menu.

According to this embodiment, although the CPU that executes the mainsoftware program is provided along with the CPU provided in operationstate control section 15, one CPU may execute both the program for thecontrol method according to this embodiment and the main softwareprogram. Alternatively, the program for the control method according tothis embodiment may be integrated into the main software program.

Next, an example of the setup menu on which the user changes theoperation state of each function will be described.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the setup menu thatappears on the projection screen. As shown in FIG. 3, the setup menushows not only the device's setup state, but information of amounts ofCO₂ emission computed by arithmetic operations. Thus, although the setupmenu is also referred to as the CO₂ emission amount menu, here, the menuscreen shown in FIG. 3 is referred to as the setup menu and informationabout settings of the device will be mainly described.

The setup menu has function setup window 51, cumulative value outputwindow 52, progress output window 53, allowable value output window 54,and function suppression priority setup window 55. Since functionsuppression priority setup window 55 will be presented in a secondembodiment that follows, its detailed description will be omitted inthis embodiment.

Function setup window 51 indicates a plurality of operation states for“brightness” corresponding to the lamp output function, for “LAN”corresponding to the communication function, and for “sound”corresponding to the sound output function. “Brightness” has twooperation states of high brightness and low brightness. “LAN” and“sound” each has two operation states of ON and OFF.

Each of the plurality of operation states of individual functions isfollowed by a concentric circle. The concentric circle denotes theoperation state in such a manner that when the inner circle is black,the corresponding operation state has been selected; when the innercircle is white, the corresponding operation state has not beenselected.

Function setup window 51 shown in FIG. 3 denotes that the inner circlecorresponding to “high brightness” in “brightness” has been set toblack, the inner circle corresponding to “ON” in “LAN” has been set toblack, and the inner circle corresponding to “ON” in “Sound” has beenset to black. They denote that the output of ultra high-voltage mercurylamp 351 has been set to “high brightness,” the LAN function of LANcircuit section 12 has been set to the ON state, and the sound output ofsound output circuit section 11 has been set to the ON state.

When one of circles corresponding to operation states of individualfunctions that appear on function setup window 51 is set to black, theoperation state corresponding to the black inner circle is set. Thesetup screen is caused to appear on the projection screen and an innercircle corresponding to an operation state is set to black by operatingcursor keys provided on a control panel (not shown) of housing uppersection 20 or by cursor keys provided on a remote controller (notshown). The control panel or remote controller corresponds to an inputacceptance section.

Function setup window 51 indicates how much the amount of CO₂ emissionis reduced per hour corresponding to the operation states of theindividual functions. Cumulative value output window 52 indicates thecumulative value of the amounts of CO₂ emission.

Next, the process and operation of operation state control section 15provided in the main substrate will be described. FIG. 4 is a schematicdiagram describing the operation of the operation state control section.In FIG. 4, information stored in storage section 16 is represented in anarea surrounded by dashed lines.

Operation state control section 15 computes an amount of CO₂ emissionper predetermined period and the cumulative value thereof. According tothis embodiment, amounts of CO₂ emission are computed by two methods.The two methods are categorized as a method that computes anincreased/decreased CO₂ emission amount and a method that computes anamount of CO₂ emission itself. In the method that computes anincreased/decreased CO₂ emission amount, it is computed as a comparativevalue that denotes the amount by which a CO₂ emission increase ordecreases from the amount of a CO₂ emission that corresponds to thepower consumption reference value.

The process that uses the method that computes an increased/decreasedCO₂ emission amount is represented as step 1100 shown at a lower leftframe of FIG. 4 and this process is referred to as theincreased/decreased emission amount computation process. In contrast,the process that uses the method that computes an amount of CO₂ emissionitself is represented as step 1200 shown at the lower right frame ofFIG. 4 and this process is referred to as the emission amountcomputation process.

Next, a procedure that is common to these two processes and on whichthey are based will be described.

When the power of the projection type display device according to thisembodiment is turned on, operation state control section 15 stores setupinformation of the operation state of each function (step 1001). Theprojection type display device according to this embodiment is providedwith three functions, which are the lamp output change function, soundoutput function, and LAN function. The lamp output change function hastwo options with respect to brightness that are “low brightness” and“high brightness.” Each of the sound output function and LAN functionhas options that are “ON” and “OFF.” The default value of the brightnesshas been set to “high brightness,” that of the sound output function hasbeen set to “ON,” and that of the LAN function has been set to “ON.”

Operation state control section 15 detects the operation state of eachfunction (step 1002). Although this operation can be performed at anyperiod, according to this embodiment, the detection period is oneminute. Unless the user changes the operation state of each function, ithas been set to the default value. As described above, the brightness ofthe lamp has been set to “high brightness,” the LAN function has beenset to “ON,” and the sound output function has been set to “ON.”Operation state control section 15 refers to the power consumption tablepre-stored in storage section 16 and reads a power consumption valuecorresponding to detection information that is information of thedetected result of the operation state of each function from the powerconsumption table (step 1003). In addition, operation state controlsection 15 reads the power consumption reference value and the CO₂emission factor from storage section 16 (step 1003).

FIG. 5 shows an example of the power consumption table stored in thestorage section. Since the lamp output change function, LAN function,and sound output function each have two options, there are a total ofeight combinations of options of functions. FIG. 5 shows that thecombinations are denoted by A to H and that operation states ofindividual functions are correlated with power consumption values.Referring to FIG. 5, power consumption corresponding to the defaultvalues of the operation states of the individual functions is 325 W.Hereinafter, the combinations A to H shown in FIG. 5 are referred to asdevice operation states A to H, respectively.

Followed by step 1003, operation state control section 15 executes theincreased/decreased emission amount computation process at step 1100 orthe emission amount computation process at step 1200. Thereafter, whenthe user inputs the setup menu invoking command, operation state controlsection 15 causes the computed result to appear (step 1500).

According to this embodiment, operation state control section 15 detectsthe operation state of each function at step 1002, recognizes the deviceoperation state based on the operation state of each function, and readspower consumption corresponding to the recognized device operation statefrom the power consumption table. It should be noted that powerconsumption can be decided in another method other than the foregoingmethod. For example, when the operation state of each function is set tothe default value or set by the user at step 1001, operation statecontrol section 15 records the operation state as one of operationstates A to H shown in FIG. 5 to storage section 16. In this alternativemethod, at step 1002, when operation state control section 15 refers toinformation of the device operation state recorded in storage section16, it can recognize the device operation state as one of deviceoperation states A to H and read power consumption corresponding to therecognized device operation state from the power consumption tablewithout need to detect the operation state of each function. In thisalternative method, the same purpose as the foregoing method thatdetects the operation state of each function can be achieved.

Next, the increased/decreased emission amount computation process atstep 1100 of the foregoing two computation methods for amounts of CO₂emission will be described. FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing a procedureof the increased/decreased emission amount computation process shown inFIG. 4.

When operation state control section 15 detects the operation state ofeach function at step 1002 shown in FIG. 4, operation state controlsection 15 determines whether or not the operation state is the same asthe operation state that has been detected (step 1101). If the currentoperation state is different from the operation state that has beendetected, operation state control section 15 reads power consumptioncorresponding to the current operation state from the power consumptiontable (step 1102) and then advances to step 1103 of the process. If thecurrent operation state is the same as the state that has been detected,since operation state control section 15 does not need to read a powerconsumption value corresponding to the operation state therefrom,operation state control section 15 directly advances to step 1103.

At step 1103, operation state control section 15 computes an amount ofCO₂ emission based on the power consumption corresponding to theoperation state of each function, the CO₂ emission factor, and the powerconsumption reference value and stores the computed value to storagesection 16. At this point, if the power consumption value correspondingto the detected operation state of each function is lower than the powerconsumption reference value, operation state control section 15 recordsthe computed amount of CO₂ emission as a reduction amount to storagesection 16; if the power consumption value corresponding to the detectedoperation state of each function is greater than the power consumptionreference value, operation state control section 15 records the computedamount of CO₂ emission as an increase amount thereto. As an example of amethod that separately records a reduction amount and an increaseamount, when a reduction amount is managed as a plus value, if thecomputed amount of CO₂ emission is a reduction amount, a plus sign isadded to the computed amount of CO₂ emission; if it is an increaseamount, a minus sign is added thereto.

In addition, if a cumulative value has been stored in storage section16, operation state control section 15 computes the sum of the amount ofCO₂ emission computed at step 1103 and the cumulative value stored instorage section 16 (step 1104). Thereafter, operation state controlsection 15 stores the result computed at step 1104 as a new cumulativevalue to storage section 16 (step 1105).

When the user inputs a power off command to the device (step 1106),operation state control section 15 causes the cumulative value ofincreased/decreased CO₂ emission amounts to appear (step 1107). Incontrast, unless the user inputs the power off command, operation statecontrol section 15 returns to step 1002 of the process at an elapsedtime of one minute after step 1002 shown in FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an example of an image that appears when the user inputs thepower off command. As shown in FIG. 7, in addition to a message thatcauses the user to confirm whether or not to turn off the power, a CO₂emission value appears on the screen. In addition, selection buttonsthat cause the power to be turned off appear in the image.

If the user selects “YES” of the selection buttons that appear on thescreen (step 1108), operation state control section 15 turns off thepower; if he or she selects “NO” of the selection buttons, operationstate control section 15 returns to step 1002 shown in FIG. 4.

In the example of the screen shown in FIG. 7, the cumulative value ofamounts of CO₂ emission is zero. As described above, in the case that ifthe computed amount of CO₂ emission is a reduction amount, a plus signis added thereto and if the computed amount of CO₂ emission is anincrease amount, a minus sign is added thereto, a plus cumulative valuerepresents an amount of CO₂ reduction, while a minus cumulative valuerepresents an amount of CO₂ increased.

When the cumulative value is a plus value, the value can be indicated onthe screen shown in FIG. 7. As a result, the user can easily recognizethe indicated cumulative value as an amount of CO₂ reduction. Incontrast, when the cumulative value is a minus value, if the value isindicated on the screen as shown in FIG. 7, a value with a minus sign isindicated as an amount of CO₂ reduction appears. In this case, anabsolute cumulative value may be indicated with “No reduction of CO₂emission in this time, but increased amount of CO₂ emission fromreference value” instead of “amount of CO₂ reduction in this time.” Inaddition, if a value with a minus sign is indicated as an amount of CO₂reduction, since the user may not easily understand it, because theamount of CO₂ reduction is zero, value “0” might appear on the screen.

Here, a specific example will be described. It is assumed thatindividual functions have been set to their default value.

At step 1103, operation state control section 15 computes anincreased/decreased CO₂ emission amount for the period based oninformation of power consumption corresponding to device operation stateA=325 W, power consumption reference value=325 W, CO₂ emissionfactor=0.42 g−CO₂/Wh. In this example, since both the power consumptioncorresponding to the device operation state and to the power consumptionreference value are the same, 325 W, the increased/decreased CO₂emission amount per hour can be computed as follows. Increased/decreasedCO₂ emission amount=(power consumption reference value−power consumptioncorresponding to device operation state)×CO₂ emissionfactor=(325−325)×0.42=0 g. In this case, an increased/decreased CO₂emission amount per minute is also “0 g.”

Assuming that the cumulative value stored in storage section 16 is 0 g,even if the device operates and the time elapses, since theincreased/decreased CO₂ emission amount computed at step 1103 is 0 g,the cumulative value computed at step 1104 is also 0 g.

This cumulative value appears not only on the screen when the power isturned off, but also on the setup menu screen. The setup menu screenshown in FIG. 3 indicates the cumulative value on cumulative valueoutput window 52 at an upper pane of the setup menu. In this example,since the maximum value of the power consumption of the device has beenset as the power consumption reference value, the increased/decreasedCO₂ emission amount is “0 g” or a reduction amount is computed. Thus,cumulative value output window 52 shows the expression “reduced.” Sincefunction setup window 51 shown in FIG. 3 indicates an amount of CO₂reduction per hour in the case in which the device is used in thesettings that appear on the window, expression “can be reduced” is used.The user who sees reduction amount “0 g” might have a motivation toraise the reduction amount and change the current operation state toanother operation state.

Here, several examples of amounts of CO₂ reduction that appear onfunction setup window 51 will be described. An amount of CO₂ reductionthat appears on function setup window 51 is computed as follows. Whenthe user inputs the setup screen invoking command to the device,operation state control section 15 checks the device operation statethat has been set up, computes an amount of CO₂ reduction per hourcorresponding to the device operation state, and causes the computedamount of CO₂ reduction to appear on function setup window 51.

FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C show examples of the amounts of CO₂ reduction thatappear on the screen and that differ in device operation states. FIG. 8Ashows an example of the amount of CO₂ reduction that appears on thescreen and that corresponds to device operation state A shown in FIG. 5;FIG. 8B shows an example of the amount of CO₂ reduction that appears onthe screen and that corresponds to device operation state E; and FIG. 8Cshows an example of the amount of CO₂ reduction that appears on thescreen and that corresponds to the device operation state G shown inFIG. 5. In this example, it is assumed that power consumption=325 W thatcorresponds to the device operation state A is the power consumptionreference value.

As shown in FIG. 8A, if the brightness has been set to “highbrightness,” if the LAN function has been set to “ON,” and if the soundoutput has been set to “ON”, the amount of CO₂ emission that can bereduced per hour appears as “0 g” on the screen. As shown in FIG. 8B, ifthe brightness has been set to “low brightness” and the settings ofother functions are the same as those of FIG. 8A, the amount of CO₂emission that can be reduced per hour becomes (325−240)×0.42=35.7 g.

As shown in FIG. 8C, if only the setting of the sound output is the sameas that of FIG. 8A, if the brightness has been set to “low brightness,”and if the LAN function has been set to “OFF,” the amount of CO₂emission that can be reduced per hour becomes (325−225)×0.42=42.0 g.

Since the user of the device can refer to the setup menu and decide thedevice operation state in consideration of the purpose for the use ofthe device and the amount of CO₂ reduction, he or she can reduce theamount of CO₂ emission without causing any inconvenience to the userusing the device.

Next, the appearance of an amount of CO₂ reduction on function setupwindow 51 in the case in which the power consumption reference valuecorresponding to the device operation state C shown FIG. 5, 310 W, willbe described. Since timings of the process performed in operation statecontrol section 15 is the same as those shown in FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C, adetailed description will be omitted.

FIG. 9A to FIG. 9C show examples amounts of CO₂ reduction that appearson the screen and that differ in the device operation states. FIG. 9Ashows an example of the amount of CO₂ reduction that appears on thescreen and that corresponds to the device operation state A shown inFIG. 5; FIG. 9B shows an example of the amount of CO₂ reduction thatappears on the screen and that corresponds to the device operation stateC shown in FIG. 5; and FIG. 9C shows an example of the amount of CO₂reduction that appears on the screen and that corresponds to the deviceoperation state G shown in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIG. 9A, if the brightness has been set to “highbrightness,” if the LAN function has been set to “ON,” and if the soundoutput has been set to “ON,” since they correspond to device operationstate A, power consumption becomes 325 W. Operation state controlsection 15 computes an increased/decreased CO₂ emission amount per houras (power consumption corresponding to device operation state−powerconsumption reference value)×CO₂ emission factor=(325−310)×0.42=+6.3 gbased on the power consumption corresponding to the device operationstate A=325 W, power consumption reference value=310 W, and CO₂ emissionfactor=0.42 g−CO₂/Wh. Thereafter, operation state control section 15causes an increased/decreased CO₂ emission amount to appear on thescreen as shown in FIG. 9A.

“+” sign of an amount of CO₂ emission denotes that the amount of CO₂emission increases from the reference value. In contrast, “−” sign of anamount of CO₂ emission denotes that the amount of CO₂ emission decreasesfrom the reference value. Thus, function setup window 51 shown in FIG.9A indicates expression “increased or decreased” including not only thecase in which the amount of CO₂ emission decreases from the referencevalue, but the case in which the amount of CO₂ emission increases fromthe reference value.

As shown in FIG. 9B, if the LAN function has been set to “OFF” and ifthe settings of the other functions have been the same as those shown inFIG. 9A, the device will have been set to the device operation state C.In this case, since the power consumption corresponding to the deviceoperation state C is equal to the power consumption reference value, theincreased/decreased CO₂ emission amount per hour becomes “0 g.”

As shown in FIG. 9C, if only the sound output has been set to “ON” thatis the same setting as that shown in FIG. 9A, the brightness has beenset to “low brightness,” and the LAN function has been set to “OFF,”operation state control section 15 computes an increased/decreased CO₂emission amount per hour as (225−310)×0.42=−35.7 g. Thereafter,operation state control section 15 causes the increased/decreased CO₂emission amount per hour to appear on the screen as shown in FIG. 9C.

The user of the device can easily recognize the appearance on the screenshown in FIG. 9C as a reduction of an amount of CO₂ emission, whereasthe appearance on the screen shown in FIG. 9A can convey a strongimpression to the user of the amount of the CO₂ emission increase. Thus,the user might be motivated to change the device operation state toanother operation state having lower power consumption and thereby thereduction of the amount of CO₂ emission substantially rises.

Although FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C and FIG. 9A to 9C show reduced, increased,or decreased amount of CO₂ emission per hour, the computation period foramount of CO₂ emission may be other than one hour. Thus, the computationperiod for amount of CO₂ emission may be one minute that is theoperation state detection period.

If an amount of CO₂ emission increases from the reference value shown inFIG. 9A, the amount of CO₂ emission that appears on function setupwindow 51 may have a value of zero. As a result, a method thatcontributes to the reduction of an amount of CO₂ emission can bestrongly impressed on the user.

Next, the procedure of the emission amount computation process at step1200 shown in FIG. 4 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showingthe procedure of the emission amount computation process shown in FIG.4.

When operation state control section 15 detects the operation state ofeach function at step 1002 shown in FIG. 4, operation state controlsection 15 determines whether or not the operation state of eachfunction is the same as the operation state that has been detected (step1201). If the current operation state is different from the operationstate that has been detected, operation state control section 15 readspower consumption corresponding to the current operation state from thepower consumption table (step 1202) and then advances to step 1203 ofthe process. In contrast, at step 1201, if the current operation stateis the same as the operation state that has been detected, sinceoperation state control section 15 does not need to read the value ofthe power consumption corresponding to the operation state, operationstate control section 15 directly advances to step 1203 of the process.

At step 1203, operation state control section 15 computes an amount ofCO₂ emission based on the power consumption corresponding to theoperation state of each function and the CO₂ emission factor and storesthe computed amount of CO₂ emission in storage section 16. In addition,operation state control section 15 computes the sum of the amount of CO₂emission computed at step 1203 and the cumulative value stored instorage section 16 (step 1204). Thereafter, operation state controlsection 15 stores the computed result of step 1204 as a new cumulativevalue to storage section 16 (step 1205).

When the user inputs the power off command to the device (step 1206),operation state control section 15 causes the cumulative value of CO₂emission amounts to appear (step 1207). Unless the user inputs the poweroff command, operation state control section 15 returns to step 1002 ofthe process at an elapsed time of 1 minute after step 1002 shown in FIG.4.

In this case, when the user inputs the power off command to the device,an image that includes “amount of CO₂ emission” instead of “amount ofCO₂ reduction” appears on the screen. If the user selects “YES” fromamong the selection buttons that appears on the screen (step 1208),operation state control section 15 turns off the power; if he or sheselects “NO” from among the selection buttons, operation state controlsection 15 returns to step 1002 shown in FIG. 4.

Here, a specific example will be described. In this example, it isassumed that individual functions have been set to their default value.

At step 1203, operation state control section 15 computes an amount ofCO₂ emission for the period based on power consumption corresponding todevice operation state A=325 W, CO₂ emission factor=0.42 g−CO₂/Wh, anddetection period=1 minute. As a result, operation state control section15 obtains amount of CO₂ emission per minute=power consumptioncorresponding to device operation state×(detection period/60)×CO₂emission factor=325×(1/60)×0.42=2.3 g.

Thereafter, at step 1204, operation state control section 15 computesthe sum of the cumulative value stored in storage section 16 and 2.3 gcomputed at step 1203 and stores the computed result as a new cumulativevalue to storage section 16. The cumulative value appears not only onthe screen when the power is turned off, but also on cumulative valueoutput window 52 of the setup menu screen shown in FIG. 3.

When the user of the device sees the cumulative value of the CO₂emission amount, he or she might be motivated to reduce the amount ofCO₂ emission and to change the current operation state of each functionto another operation state.

Alternatively, the user might operate the device to cause the setup menuscreen to appear and then input a command that causes the operationstate of function setup window 51 to change such that operation statecontrol section 15 causes the amount of CO₂ emission per unit time toappear on the screen as shown in FIG. 8A to FIG. 9C. In this case,“amount of CO₂ emission per hour” appears on the screen instead of“amount of CO₂ reduction per hour.” Thus, the user can refer to thesetup menu and decide the operation state of the device taking intoaccount both using of the device and the amount of CO₂ emission. As aresult, the user can achieve a reduction of the amount of CO₂ emissionwithout causing any inconvenience to the user using the device.

As described above, since the user is instructed how to use the deviceand since the cumulative value of CO₂ emission amounts is caused toappear on the screen, he or she is motivated to change the currentoperation state of each function to another operation state. As aresult, since the user of the device can change the operation state ofeach function to another operation state with lower power consumption,the amount of CO₂ emission can be reduced.

Second Embodiment

This embodiment is a method that suppresses an amount of CO₂ emission inthe case where it continuously rises since the frequency of use of theprojection type display device described in the first embodiment is highor where the operation state of the projection type display device isnot changed although the method according to the first embodiment isexecuted.

According to this embodiment, since a predetermined upper limit value ofCO₂ emission amounts is pre-registered on the projection type displaydevice before it is sold, if the amount of CO₂ emission exceeds theupper limit value, the projection type display device forciblysuppresses each function or prohibits the user from using the devicesuch that when the planned service life of the device expires, the totalamount of CO₂ emission will not exceed the upper limit value. Accordingto this embodiment, the cumulative value of CO₂ emission amountscomputed at step 1205 of the flow chart shown in FIG. 10 is used.

Next, the structure of the projection type display device according tothis embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing anexample of a principal structure that executes power control for theprojection type display device according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 11, the principal structure with respect to the powercontrol according to this embodiment is the same as that shown in FIG. 2except that the former is provided with elapsed time measurement section17. Thus, in this embodiment, detailed description for a structuresimilar to that of the first embodiment will be omitted; only thestructure and operation that are different from those of the firstembodiment will be described in detail.

According to this embodiment, main substrate 10 is provided with elapsedtime measurement section 17. Elapsed time measurement section 17 hasclock generator 171 that generates a clock signal at a constant period;counter section 172 that counts the clock signal that is input fromclock generator 171; and battery 173 that supplies power to clockgenerator 171 and counter section 172 while the device is turned off.Counter section 172 converts the count of the clock signal into acorresponding time and measures an elapsed time after the beginning ofthe use of the device. Battery 173 is connected to power supply feedingsection 341 through a wire (not shown) and is charged while the power ofthe device is turned on.

While power of the device is turned off, clock generator 171 and countersection 172 continuously operate with power supplied from battery 173and measures an elapsed time even while the user does not use thedevice.

Storage section 16 has stored data of upper limit values and allowablevalues of CO₂ emission amounts corresponding to elapsed times after thebeginning of the use of the projection type display device according tothis embodiment along with the CO₂ emission factor and power consumptiontable described in the first embodiment. An upper limit value is adetermination reference value that denotes whether or not to forciblysuppress each function. An allowable value is a determination referencevalue that denotes whether or not to cancel each suppressed function.

Alternatively, storage section 16 may have stored function suppressionpriority information that denotes which functions should bepreferentially set to an operation state with lower power consumptionwhen the functions are suppressed. The function suppression priorityinformation is preset by the user. For example, the function suppressionpriority information is set up as follows. The user operates theprojection type display device so that the setup menu shown in FIG. 3appears on the screen. Thereafter, the user operates cursor keysprovided on a control panel (not shown) of housing upper section 20 orcursor keys provided on a remote controller (not shown) so as to set upthe suppression priority of the functions on function suppressionpriority setup window 55 shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 shows that when functions are forcibly suppressed, “brightness”is suppressed with the highest priority, then “sound output” issuppressed with the next priority, and last “LAN function” is suppressedwith the lowest priority. In addition, since “no suppression” appears ata lower field of a function name on function suppression priority setupwindow 55, it is clear that any function has not been suppressed.

Operation state control section 15 refers to an elapsed time measured byelapsed time measurement section 17 for every constant period, reads theupper limit value of CO₂ emission amounts corresponding to the elapsedtime, and compares the cumulative value of CO₂ emission amounts computedby the emission amount computation process described in the firstembodiment with the upper limit value. If the cumulative value isgreater than the upper limit value, operation state control section 15forcibly changes the operation state of each function to anotheroperation state with lower power consumption based on the functionsuppression priority information so as to suppress the functions. Afteroperation state control section 15 suppresses the functions, if thecumulative value of CO₂ emission amounts becomes lower than theallowable value, operation state control section 15 cancels thesuppression of the functions.

Although this embodiment is provided with elapsed time measurementsection 17, a calendar function and a clock function provided in anordinary projection type display device may be used. In this case,operation state control section 15 identifies the date and time with thecalendar function and the clock function when the user starts using thedevice and records the identified date and time to nonvolatile memory(not shown). Thereafter, operation state control section 15 identifiesthe date and time with the calendar function and the clock function forevery constant period, computes the time between the identified date andtime and those recorded in nonvolatile memory (not shown), and sets thecomputed time as the elapsed time.

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram describing the operation of an operationstate control section according to this embodiment. FIG. 12 showsinformation stored in storage section 16 with an area surrounded bydashed lines.

As shown in FIG. 12, operation state control section 15 refers to theelapsed time for every constant period from storage section 16 afterstarting using the projection type display device, reads the upper limitvalue and allowable value of CO₂ emission amounts corresponding to theelapsed time therefrom, and performs an emission amount suppressionprocess at step 1300. At that point, operation state control section 15compares the cumulative value of CO₂ emission amounts computed at step1205 shown in FIG. 10 with the upper limit value or allowable value andperforms a control that changes or maintains the operation states basedon the determined result. If the function suppression priorityinformation is pre-registered in storage section 16, operation statecontrol section 15 changes the operation states based on the functionsuppression priority information.

Next, a procedure of the emission amount suppression process at step1300 shown in FIG. 12 will be described in detail. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the emission amount suppression process.

Operation state control section 15 reads the upper limit value of CO₂emission amounts corresponding to the elapsed time from storage section16 (step 1301) and compares the cumulative value computed at step 1205shown in FIG. 10 with the upper limit value (step 1302). If thecumulative value is greater than the upper limit value (step 1303),operation state control section 15 changes the operation state of eachfunction based on the function suppression priority information (step1304).

When the user inputs the power off command to the device (step 1305),operation state control section 15 causes the cumulative value of CO₂emission amounts to appear on the screen (step 1306). Unless the userinputs the power off command to the device, operation state controlsection 15 returns to step 1301 of the process at an elapsed time of oneminute after step 1301. When the user inputs the power off command tothe device again (step 1307), operation state control section 15 turnsoff the power; when the user input a power off cancellation command tothe device, operation state control section 15 returns to step 1301.

If the cumulative value is equal to or lower than the upper limit valueat step 1303, operation state control section 15 determines whether ornot a function has been suppressed (step 1308). Unless a function hasbeen suppressed, operation state control section 15 advances to step1305 of the process. If a function has been suppressed, operation statecontrol section 15 reads the allowable value of the CO₂ emission amountscorresponding to the elapsed time from storage section 16 (step 1309).Thereafter, operation state control section 15 compares the cumulativevalue with the allowable value (step 1310), and if the cumulative valueis lower than the allowable value, operation state control section 15cancels the suppression of the function (step 1311) and then advances tostep 1305 of the process.

In the flow chart shown in FIG. 13, when a function has been suppressed,the cumulative value is compared with the allowable value at step 1310and if the cumulative value is lower than the allowable value, a controlthat cancels the suppression of the function is performed at step 1311;however, the control that cancels the suppression of the function mightbe omitted.

Next, a specific example of the method for the CO₂ emission amountsuppression process according to this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 14 is a graph showing the relationship between elapsed times andupper limit values of CO₂ emission amounts corresponding to applicationsof a plurality of projection type display devices. The horizontal axisof the graph represents elapsed times after the initial use of theprojection type display device until the planned service life thereof,whereas the vertical axis represents the cumulative values of CO₂emission amounts corresponding to the elapsed times. Hereinafter, acurve that connects upper limit values of CO₂ emission amounts isreferred to as the upper limit curve.

In this example, three kinds of projection type display devices thathave different applications will be considered. The three kinds ofprojection type display devices are a business-use immobile andprojection type display device, a business-use mobile and projectiontype display device, and a home-use projection type display device. InFIG. 14, the upper limit curve of CO₂ emission amounts of thebusiness-use immobile and projection type display device is denoted bysolid line 501. On the other hand, the upper limit curve of CO₂ emissionamounts of the business-use mobile type and projection type displaydevice is denoted by dashed line 502, and the upper limit curve of CO₂emission amounts of the home-use projection type display device isdenoted by dashed line 503.

Assuming that the planned service life of each device after thebeginning of use is 61320 hours as shown in FIG. 14, the upper limit ofthe total amount of CO₂ emission of the business-use immobile andprojection type display device is 673 kg, that of the business-usemobile and projection type display device is 352 kg, and that of thehome-use projection type display device is 149 kg.

The upper limit value corresponding to an elapsed time of each device isdecided based on the operating time per day and the frequency of use perweek after the user purchases the device until the planned service lifeexpires. In addition, the upper limit value is decided such that theupper limit of emission amounts is suppressed from rising as the timeelapses without causing any inconvenience to the user using the device.

Next, assuming that the projection type display device according to thisembodiment is of business-use immobile type, with an example of theupper limit value and allowable value of CO₂ emission amounts, anothercontrol executed by operation state control section 15 will bedescribed. Hereinafter, a curve that represents changes of the allowablevalue as the time elapses is referred to as the suppression cancelationcurve.

FIG. 15 is a graph showing an example of the upper limit curve and thesuppression cancelation curve of CO₂ emission amounts of the immobileand projection type display device. In FIG. 15, the upper limit curve isdenoted by solid line 501, whereas the suppression cancellation curve isdenoted by dashed line 505. The suppression cancellation curve is lowerthan the upper limit curve at each elapsed time by 50 kg.

In the graph shown in FIG. 15, when the cumulative value of CO₂ emissionamounts is in excess of the upper limit curve, operation state controlsection 15 performs the function suppression control corresponding tothe procedure described in FIG. 13. At this point, if there is nofunction that operation state control section 15 suppresses, it forciblysets the continuously operating period of the device to a predeterminedperiod. According to this embodiment, it is assumed that thecontinuously operating time is 10 minutes. When the cumulative value ofCO₂ emission amounts becomes below a value of the suppressioncancellation curve, operation state control section 15 cancels therestriction of the function and the continuously operating time.

Next, specific operations and effects of four working examples of thebusiness-use immobile and projection type display device described withreference to FIG. 15 will be described. In the following workingexamples, the cumulative value computed at step 1205 shown in FIG. 10 isreferred to as the actual value.

Working Example 1

This working example is referred to as actual CO₂ emission example (1).In this working example, a control method in the case where theoperating time of the device is long or the frequency of use of thedevice is high will be described.

FIG. 16 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amounts according to thisworking example. In FIG. 16, actual CO₂ emission amounts in the casewhere the operating time of the device is long or where the frequency ofuse of the device is high are plotted every month with circles. FIG. 16shows actual CO₂ emission example (1) in the case where the frequency ofuse of the device is high. A high “frequency of use” means that theoperating time in the operating period is long. In this working example,the total operating time of the device was 5644 h.

In this working example, the device was used with the default values ofthe operation states of the individual functions. As described above,with the default values, the brightness is set to “high brightness,” theLAN function is set to “ON,” and the sound output function is set to“ON.” In this working example, it is assumed that the user did notchange the operation states of the individual functions. In this workingexample, the operations and effects of the device will be describedcorresponding to elapsed times after the beginning of use.

Operation of Device After the Beginning of the Use (0 h) Before anElapsed Time of 11680 h

In this period, since the operating time was short and the frequency ofuse was low, the user was able to use the device with the default valuesof the operation states of the individual functions without anyrestrictions thereof. FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram showing an exampleof the setup menu at an elapsed time of 6570 h in actual CO₂ emissionamounts according to this working example. In this working example, theuser caused the setup menu screen to appear such that he or she checkedamounts of CO₂ emission. Hereinafter, the setup menu which the user usesto check amounts of CO₂ emission rather than changes settings isreferred to as the CO₂ emission amount menu.

Progress output window 53 that appears at the middle pane of the screenindicates the planned emission value that is allowed at the elapsed timeas “120 kg−CO₂”, the cumulative emission amount that represents theactual emission amounts as “76 kg−CO₂,” and the allowable emission valueat which a function is forcibly suppressed as “44 kg−CO₂.” When the usersees the CO₂ emission amount menu shown in FIG. 17 and expects that theoperating time and frequency of use will not change from now on, if heor she changes the operation states of the functions, these functionscan be prevented from being forcibly suppressed. If the user does notchange the settings, he or she recognizes that the operating time andfrequency of use need to be shortened and lowered, respectively. Thetotal CO₂ emission amount appears on allowable value output window 54 atthe lower left pane of the screen.

Function suppression priority setup window 55 that appears at the lowerright pane of the screen indicates “function suppression priority andsuppression situation in the case where the amount of emission hasexceeded the planned emission value.” Function suppression prioritysetup window 55 also indicates settings that denote priority in whichindividual functions should be suppressed if the actual CO₂ emissionamount is in excess of the upper limit value of CO2 emission amounts.The content of the settings has been stored as function suppressionpriority information in storage section 16.

The settings that appear on function suppression priority setup window55 shown in FIG. 17 denote that first the brightness is suppressed from“high brightness” to “low brightness,” then the sound output issuppressed from “ON” to “OFF,” and lastly the LAN function is suppressedfrom “ON” to “OFF.”

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 11680 h Before an ElapsedTime of 21900 h

Since the actual emission amount is in excess of the upper limit valueof CO₂ emission amounts at an elapsed time of 11680 h, operation statecontrol section 15 changes the lamp output from “high brightness” to“low brightness” based on the function suppression priority information.This control causes the function of “brightness” that has a highersuppression priority to be restricted and thereby “high brightness” tobe changed to “low brightness.” The user can check this situation in“function suppression priority and suppression situation in the casewhere the amount of emission has exceeded the planned emission value” onfunction suppression priority setup window 55 on the screen shown inFIG. 17 that denotes that “low brightness” appears at the lower field of“brightness.” At this point, the sound output and LAN function have notbeen restricted.

FIG. 18 shows an example of the CO₂ emission amount menu at an elapsedtime of 18980 h. Progress output window 53 that appears at the middlepane shown in FIG. 18 indicates the planned emission value permittedcorresponding to the elapsed time as “338 kg−CO₂,” the cumulative valueof emission amounts that represents the actual emission amounts as “311kg−CO₂,” and the allowable value of emission amounts at which a functionis forcibly suppressed as “27 kg−CO₂.” Since the effects of theseamounts that appear on the screen for the user are the same as thoseshown in FIG. 17, the detailed description will be omitted.

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 21900 h Before an ElapsedTime of 28470 h

In the state in which “brightness” had been restricted to “lowbrightness,” since the actual emission amount was in excess of the upperlimit value of CO₂ emission amounts at the elapsed time of 21900 h,operation state control section 15 changes the sound output from “ON” to“OFF” based on the function suppression priority information. Thiscontrol restricted the function “sound output” that has a functionsuppression priority that is just lower than that of “brightness” andthereby “ON” was changed to “OFF.” This changing operation will bereflected in the device at next start time after the device is stopped.

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 28470 h Before an ElapsedTime of 34310 h

In the state in which the functions had been restricted such that“brightness” had been set to “low brightness” and “sound output” hadbeen set to “OFF,” the actual emission amount was in excess of the upperlimit value of CO₂ emission amounts at an elapsed time of 28470 h. Thus,operation state control section 15 changes the LAN function from “ON” to“OFF” based on the function suppression priority information. Thiscontrol restricted the LAN function that has a function suppressionpriority that is just lower than that of the sound output and thereby“ON” was changed to “OFF.”

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 34310 h Before an ElapsedTime of 40880 h

In the state in which the functions had been restricted such that“bright” had been set to “low brightness,” “sound output” had been setto “OFF,” and “LAN function” had been set to “OFF,” the actual emissionamount was in excess of the upper limit value of CO₂ emission amounts atan elapsed time of 34310 h. However, since there was no function to besuppressed, operation state control section 15 changed the device to amode in which the device was prohibited from being used beyond apredetermined period (prohibition-of-use mode). In theprohibition-of-use mode, even if the user operates the device, operationstate control section 15 forcibly puts the device into the stop processapproximately 10 minutes after the beginning of the operation such thatit is prohibited from being continuously used.

When the device has changed to the prohibition-of-use mode, operationstate control section 15 obtains the date and time at which theprohibition-of-use mode is cancelled and displays information of theobtained date and time before stopping the operation of the device.

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 40880 h Before the PlannedService Life

When suppression of the functions and the prohibition-of-use mode wascancelled depending on the time elapsed, the functions of the devicewere not restricted and thereby it was able to be continuously used.

Working Example 2

This working example is referred to as actual CO₂ emission example (2).In this working example, a control method in the case where theoperating time of the device was long or where the frequency of use ofthe device was high on a particular occasion will be described.

FIG. 19 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amounts according to thisworking example. FIG. 19 shows actual CO₂ emission example (2) in thecase in which the frequency of use of the device was high on aparticular occasion. In this working example, the total operating timeof the device was 4684 h.

In this working example, the device was used with the default values ofthe operation states of the individual functions. As described above,with the default values, the brightness is set to “high brightness,” theLAN function is set to “ON,” and the sound output function is set to“ON.” In this working example, it is assumed that the user did notchange the operation states of the individual functions while the devicewas operated. The operation of the device will be describedcorresponding to elapsed times after the beginning of the use.

Operation of Device After the Beginning of Use (0 h) Before an ElapsedTime of 13870 h

In this period, the operating time of the device was short and thefrequency of use of the device was low and thus the user was able to usethe device without restrictions on the operation states of thefunctions.

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 13870 h Before an ElapsedTime of 20440 h

Since the actual emission amount was in excess of the upper limit valueof CO₂ emission amounts at an elapsed time of 13870 h, operation statecontrol section 15 executed a control based on the function suppressionpriority information so that the function “brightness” having a higherfunction suppression priority was restricted and thereby “brightness”was changed from “high brightness” to “low brightness.”

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 20440 h Before an ElapsedTime of 33580 h

Since the function suppression effect in which “brightness” had been setto “low brightness” and the operating time of the device was short andthe frequency of use of the device was low, the actual emission amountwas below the suppression release curve at the elapsed time of 20440 h.Thus, operation state control section 15 cancelled the suppression ofthe function. After the suppression of the function was cancelled, theuser was able to use the device in the operation state “high brightness”of the function “brightness.”

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 33580 h Before an ElapsedTime of 51100 h

Since the actual emission amount was in excess of the upper limit valueof CO₂ emission amounts at an elapsed time of 33580 h again, operationstate control section 15 executed a control based on functionsuppression priority information. As a result, the function “brightness”having a higher function suppression priority was restricted and thereby“brightness” was changed from “high brightness” to “low brightness.”

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 51100 h Before the PlannedService Life

Since the function suppression effect in which “brightness” had been setto “low brightness,” the operating time of the device was short, and thefrequency of use of the device was low, the actual emission amountreached a level lower than the suppression release curve at an elapsedtime of 51100 h. Thus, operation state control section 15 cancelledsuppression of the function. After suppression of the function wascancelled, the user was able to use the device in the operation state“high brightness” of the function “brightness.” Thereafter, the user wasable to use the device without any restriction of the function.

Working Example 3

This working example is referred to as actual CO₂ emission example (3).In this working example, a control method in the case in which theoperating time of the device was short and the frequency of use of thedevice was low will be described.

FIG. 20 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amounts according to thisworking example. FIG. 20 shows the actual CO₂ emission example (3) inthe case in which the operating time of the device was short and thefrequency of use of the device was low. In this working example, thetotal operating time of the device was 2757 h and the average operatingtime was 32.8 h/month. Here, the operation of the device according tothis working example will be described corresponding to elapsed timesafter the beginning of use.

Operation of Device After the Beginning of Use (0 h) Before an ElapsedTime of 13140 h

In this period, the device was used with the default values of theoperation states of the individual functions. As was described above,with the default values, the brightness is set to “high brightness,” theLAN function is set to “ON,” and the sound output function is set to“ON.” In this working example, the user did not change the operationstates of the individual functions while the device was being used.

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 13140 h Before an ElapsedTime of 21170 h

After the user had changed “brightness” from “high brightness” to “lowbrightness” at an elapsed time of 13140 h, the device was used in thesettings in which “brightness” had been changed to “low brightness.”

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 21170 h Before an ElapsedTime of 49640 h

After the user had changed “brightness” from “low brightness” to “highbrightness” at an elapsed time of 21170 h, the device was used in thesetting in which “brightness” had been changed to “high brightness.”

Operation of Device After an Elapsed Time of 49640 h Before the PlannedService Life

After the user had changed “brightness” from “high brightness” to “lowbrightness” at an elapsed time of 49640 h, the device was used in thesetting in which “brightness” had been changed to “low brightness.”

In this working example, the device was not heavily used after thebeginning of use until the end of the planned service life and therebythe operation states of the individual functions were not forciblychanged. In this working example, the total CO₂ emission amount was “347kg−CO₂” and the difference between this value and the upper limit valueof total CO₂ emission amounts, “673 kg−CO₂,” was “326 kg−CO₂” as anallowable emission value.

Working Example 4

This working example is referred to as actual CO₂ emission example (4).In this working example, although the operating time of the device waslong and the frequency of use of the device was high, the differencebetween this working example and working example 1 will be described.

FIG. 21 is a graph showing actual CO₂ emission amounts according to thisworking example. FIG. 21 shows actual CO₂ emission example (4) in thecase where although the operating time of the device was long and thefrequency of use of the device was high, the user used the device whilethe functions were suppressed. In this working example, the totaloperating time of the device was 34987 h and the average operating timewas 41.6 h/month.

In this working example, since the user had set “brightness” to theoperation state “low brightness,” the actual CO₂ emission value afterthe beginning of the use of the device until the end of the plannedservice life was “353 kg−CO₂” that was nearly the same as that of actualemission example (3) according to working example 3.

FIG. 22 is an example of the CO₂ emission amount menu at an elapsed timeof 51100 h in actual CO, emission amounts according to this workingexample. Progress output window 53 that appears at the middle pane shownin FIG. 22 indicates the planned emission value permitted correspondingto the elapsed time as “632 kg−CO₂,” the cumulative emission value thatis actual emission amount as “336 kg−CO₂,” and the allowable emissionvalue at which the functions are forcibly suppressed as “296 kg−CO₂.”

As indicated on cumulative value output window 52 at an upper right paneof the screen shown in FIG. 22, since the CO₂ reduction amount is “118.9kg−CO₂,” it is clear that the reduction amount is very large.

According to the foregoing first and second embodiments, since amountsof a greenhouse gas emission or increased/decreased amounts of thegreenhouse gas emission appear corresponding to conditions in which thedevice is used, the user can be motivated to reduce an amount of thegreenhouse gas that will be emitted. In addition, since the functionalsection of the electronic device according to the embodiments isprovided with a plurality of selectable operation states that differ inpower consumption, when the user who is motivated to reduce an amount ofthe greenhouse gas that will be emitted selects an operation statehaving low power consumption, the emission amount of the greenhouse gascan be reduced.

An example of the effects of the present invention is that the user isinstructed that the amount of the greenhouse gas that will be emitteddepends on the operation states of the functions of the device and he orshe is caused to select an operation state in which the amount ofemitted greenhouse gas will be reduced.

Alternatively, before the device is sold, the upper limit value of theamounts of permissible greenhouse gas that will be emitted in theoperating period for the device is pre-set, if the emission amount is inexcess of the upper limit value, the operation states of the functionsmay be restricted or operation of the device may be forcibly prohibiteduntil the emission amount reaches a level that is below the upper limitvalue. In this case, the user can use the device until the service lifeexpires without causing any inconvenience to the user using the deviceso that the device emits the greenhouse gas as planned and the totalemission amount of the greenhouse gas is suppressed to the planned upperlimit value or below when the planned service life of the deviceexpires.

According to the foregoing embodiments, power consumption valuescorresponding to operation states of functions are pre-registered in thestorage section and a CO₂ emission amount is obtained by multiplying apower consumption value corresponding to a selected operation state bythe CO₂ emission factor. Alternatively, another approach is one in whichpre-computed amounts of CO₂ emission corresponding to operation statesof functions are stored in the device instead of power consumptionvalues corresponding to operation states of functions and thereby a CO₂emission amount corresponding to a selected operation state is obtainedwithout using the CO₂ emission factor. Likewise, one approach is one inwhich reference value of amount of CO₂ emission may be pre-registered inthe device instead of power consumption reference.

However, in the method that does not use a CO₂ emission factor tocompute amounts of CO₂ emission, it may be difficult to handle changesof the CO₂ emission factor after purchase of the product and to use CO₂emission factors that differ in countries or regions. To solve such aproblem, according to these embodiments, a CO₂ emission factor ispre-stored in the device and an amount of CO₂ emission is obtained bymultiplying the computed power consumption value by the CO₂ emissionfactor. Specifically, when CO₂ emission factors that differ in countriesor regions are pre-registered in the storage section of the electronicdevice and the user who purchased the electronic device inputs a commandthat designates his or her living country or region in the device, theoperation state control section can use the CO₂ emission factor thatcorresponds to the country or region.

In the foregoing embodiments, when the user inputs a command that causesthe operation state of a function to be changed in the device, theoperation state control section quickly changes the operation statecorresponding to the command. Alternatively, information of amounts ofCO₂ emission or increased/decreased amounts of CO₂ emissioncorresponding to the operation states of individual functions may bepre-registered in the storage section such that before the operationstate control section changes a device operation state, amounts of CO₂emission or increased/decreased amounts of CO₂ emission appear beforeand after the operation state is changed. When the user inputs theoperation state change command into the device, since he or she canquickly check the effect of changing the operation state, the effect inwhich the user is motivated to change the operation state becomes large.

Moreover, in the foregoing embodiments, the three functions of the lightsource output change function, sound output function, and communicationfunction are control targets and power consumption of the device ischanged by changing the operation states; however, the number of controltargets is not limited to the foregoing three. Since the light sourceoutput affects power consumption the most in the foregoing threefunctions, even if only the light source output is a control target, theamount of emitted greenhouse gas can be remarkably reduced. Thus, evenif only the light source output is changed, the effect in which theamount of emitted greenhouse gas is remarkably reduced can be expectedfor a device that is not provided with a sound output function andcommunication function and a device from which these functions have beenremoved to reduce the cost of the device.

In addition, since parameters such as the power consumption referencevalue, the emission factor of a greenhouse gas, power consumption valuescorresponding to a plurality of operation states, upper limit values andallowable values of amounts of the greenhouse gas that are emittedcorresponding to elapsed times, and so forth are pre-set as defaultvalues before shipment, it is not desirable to change these parametervalues. However, the emission factors of greenhouse gases may be changedas countries and regions develop. Thus, it is preferable that theparameters be changed after shipment. To do that, the following controlis executed.

A password used for authentication is pre-registered in storage section16. When a parameter change signal containing a parameter change valueand the password is input to operation state control section 15, itdetermines whether or not the input password matches the password storedin storage section 16. When they match, operation state control section15 updates the parameter value stored in storage section 16 to thechange value contained in the parameter change signal. In contrast, whenthe two passwords do not match, operation state control section 15continuously uses the parameter value stored in storage section 16, anddoes not change it.

In this case, the parameter change signal can be directly input to themain body of the device by a technician of the manufacturer when theprojection type display device is maintained or by a server of themanufacturer in communication with the device while the projection typedisplay device is connected to the server through LAN circuit section 12and a network. When a parameter change value and a password are directlyinput to the main body of the device or through a LAN circuit, theparameter value can be updated.

According to the foregoing embodiments, the greenhouse gas was describedas CO₂. Alternatively, the greenhouse gas may be methane (CH₄) ordinitrogen monoxide (N₂O).

In addition, according to the foregoing embodiments, the electronicdevice was described as a projection type display device. Alternatively,the electronic device may be an image display device or another type ofdevice. Like the foregoing projection type display device, theembodiments of the present invention can be applied to an image displaydevice as long as it is provided with the light source output changefunction, LAN function, and sound output function and thereby theforegoing effects can be obtained.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to exemplary embodiments thereof, the invention is not limitedto these embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skillin the art that various changes in form and details may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention asdefined by the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   10 Main substrate-   34 Power supply unit-   35 Lamp unit-   11 Sound output circuit section-   12 LAN circuit section-   13 Power feeding line control section of sound output circuit    section-   14 Power feeding line control section of LAN circuit section-   15 Operation state control section-   16 Storage section-   341 Power supply feeding section-   342 Ballast power supply

1. An electronic device comprising: an input acceptance section that accepts an input of a command that causes any one of a plurality of operation states to be selected; a function section that has a plurality of operation states that differ in power consumption and that operates in an operation state represented by the command that is input to the input acceptance section of the plurality of operation states; a storage section that pre-stores power consumption values corresponding to the plurality of operation states and a conversion factor, based on which, power consumption is converted into an amount of emitted greenhouse gas; and a control section that reads from the storage section a power consumption value corresponding to an operation state represented by the command that is input to the input acceptance section, multiplies the power consumption value that has been read by the conversion factor, obtains the multiplied result as the amount of the emitted greenhouse gas per unit time, and causes the obtained result to appear on a display section.
 2. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the control section detects which of the plurality of operation states has been selected at predetermined periods after the electronic device starts until it stops, obtains the amount of the greenhouse gas per the predetermined period corresponding to the detected operation state, stores a sum of the amounts of the emitted greenhouse gas after the electronic device starts until the present f e as a cumulative value in the storage section, and then causes the cumulative value to appear on the display section corresponding to a command that is input to cause the electronic device to stop or corresponding to a command that is input to cause the cumulative value to appear.
 3. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein upper limit values, as determination reference based on which the present operation state of the function section should be changed to another operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state, are pre-stored in the storage section corresponding to elapsed times after the electronic device initially starts until the present time, wherein the control section compares the upper limit value corresponding to the elapsed time with the cumulative value stored in the storage section for every predetermined period and changes the present operation state to anther operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state if the compared result denotes that the cumulative value is greater than the upper limit value.
 4. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein information of a time limit at which a continuous operation of the electronic device is limited is pre-stored in the storage section, and wherein when the control section causes the function section to change the present operation state to another operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state, if there is no operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state, the control section sets the continuous operation period of the electronic device to the time limit.
 5. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein allowable values, as determination reference based on which the control section causes the function section to return the operation state to a for e operation state, are pre-stored in the storage section corresponding to the elapsed times, and wherein if the compared result denotes that the cumulative value is equal to or lower than the upper limit value, the control section determines whether or not the present operation state has been set to an operation state that is different from the selected operation state; if the present operation state is different from the selected operation state, the control section compares the cumulative value with the allowable value; if the cumulative value is lower than the allowable value, the control section causes the function section to return the operation state to the selected operation state, and if the present operation state is the same as the selected operation state, the control section maintains the present operation state.
 6. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein the electronic device has a plurality of the function sections, wherein function suppression priority information that denotes which one of the plurality of the function sections is a control target is pre-stored in the storage section, and wherein when the control section changes the present operation state to another operation state, the control section decides the function section as a control target corresponding to a priority order denoted by the function suppression priority information.
 7. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the function section comprises any section from among a light source output change function section, a communication function section, and a sound output function section.
 8. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the conversion factor that differs in each country or each region is pre-registered in the storage section, and wherein the control section uses the conversion factor that is set corresponding to a command that is issued from an outside when the electronic device is used, the conversion factor corresponding to the country or the region.
 9. The electronic device according to claim 1, further comprising: a power feeding control section that is provided between a power supply section to which power is supplied from the outside and the function section and that controls power feeding to the function section, wherein the control section controls the power feeding control section based on the detected operation state corresponding to the function section.
 10. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein a password for authentication is pre-registered in the storage section, and wherein when a parameter change signal containing a change value of a parameter and the password is input, the parameter being at least one of the power consumption values corresponding to the plurality of operation states and the conversion factor, the control section determines whether or not the password that has been input and a password that has been stored in the storage section match, the control section updates a value of the parameter stored in the storage section to the change value contained in the parameter change signal if the two passwords match, and the control section does not change the value of the parameter value stored in the storage section if the two parameters do not match.
 11. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device comprises an image display device or a projection type display device.
 12. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the greenhouse gas comprises any gas from among carbon dioxide, methane, and dinitrogen monoxide.
 13. A control method for an electronic device having: an input acceptance section that accepts an input of a command that causes any one of a plurality of operation states to be selected; and a function section that has a plurality of operation states that differ in power consumption and that operates in an operation state represented by the command that is input to the input acceptance section of the plurality of operation states, the control method comprising: storing power consumption values corresponding to the plurality of operation states and a conversion factor, based on which, power consumption is converted into an amount of emitted greenhouse gas, in a storage section; reading from the storage section a power consumption value corresponding to an operation state represented by the command that is input to the input acceptance section; and multiplying the power consumption value that has been read by the conversion factor, obtaining the multiplied result as the amount of the emitted greenhouse gas per unit time and causing the obtained result to appear on a display section.
 14. The control method for the electronic device according to claim 13, comprising: detecting which of the plurality of operation states has been selected at predetermined periods after the electronic device starts until it stops and obtaining the amount of the emitted greenhouse gas per the predetermined period corresponding to the detected operation state; storing a sum of the amounts of the emitted greenhouse gas after the electronic device starts until the present time as a cumulative value in the storage section; and causing the cumulative value to appear on the display section corresponding to a command that is input to cause the electronic device to stop or corresponding to a command that is input to cause the cumulative value to appear.
 15. The control method for the electronic device according to claim 14, comprising: storing upper limit values, as determination reference based on which the present operation state of the function section should be changed to another operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state, in the storage section corresponding to elapsed times after the electronic device initially starts until the present time; and comparing the upper limit value corresponding to the elapsed time with the cumulative value stored in the storage section for every predetermined period and changing the present operation state to anther operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state if the compared result denotes that the cumulative value is greater than the upper limit value.
 16. The control method for the electronic device according to claim 15, comprising: storing information of a time limit at which a continuous operation of the electronic device is limited in the storage section, and when causing the function section to change the present operation state to another operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state, if there is no operation state with lower power consumption than the present operation state, setting the continuous operation period of the electronic device to the time limit.
 17. The control method for the electronic device according to claim 15, comprising: storing allowable values, as determination reference based on which the control section causes the function section to return the operation state to a former operation state, in the storage section corresponding to the elapsed times; and if the compared result denotes that the cumulative value is equal to or lower than the upper limit value, determining whether or not the present operation state has been set to an operation state that is different from the selected operation state; if the present operation state is different from the selected operation state, comparing the cumulative value with the allowable value; if the cumulative value is lower than the allowable value, causing the function section to return the operation state to the selected operation state, and if the present operation state is the same as the selected operation state, maintaining the present operation state.
 18. The control method for the electronic device according to claim 14, wherein the electronic device has a plurality of the function sections, wherein the control method comprises: storing function suppression priority information that denotes which one of the plurality of the function sections comprises a control target in the storage section; and when the present operation state is changed to another operation state, deciding the function section as a control target corresponding to a priority order denoted by the function suppression priority information.
 19. The control method for the electronic device according to claim 13, comprising: registering the conversion factor that differs in each country or each region to the storage section; and using the conversion factor that is set corresponding to a command that is issued from an outside when the electronic device is used, the conversion factor corresponding to the country or the region.
 20. The control method for the electronic device according to claim 13, comprising: registering a password for authentication to the storage section; and when a parameter change signal containing a change value of a parameter and the password is input, the parameter being at least one of the power consumption values corresponding to the plurality of operation states and the conversion factor, determining whether or not the password that has been input and a password that has been stored in the storage section match, updating a value of the parameter stored in the storage section to the change value contained in the parameter change signal if the two passwords match, and not changing the value of the parameter stored in the storage section if the two parameters do not match. 